Small-ship cruise specialist Ponant Explorations and its sister line Paul Gauguin Cruises have opened a holiday booking window worth planning around. Between November 4, 2026 and January 4, 2027, new bookings can snap up discounts of up to 20 percent across more than 200 itineraries worldwide, covering much of the 2027 season.
The headline offer applies to Ponant's voyages run in alliance with Smithsonian Journeys, the Smithsonian Institution's travel programme. These sailings pair the line's expedition-style cruising with expert-led talks and enrichment, and the 20 percent discount stretches across trips as varied as the Mediterranean islands, the Norwegian fjords and the Great Lakes of North America — a reminder of how far the brand's reach now goes beyond its polar heartland.
Elsewhere in the fleet, the sale takes 10 percent off a broad run of Ponant routes, from transits of the Panama Canal and Costa Rica sailings all the way to Madagascar. Bookings under both offers use the same reference code, HOLIDAY26.
Paul Gauguin Cruises gets in on the deal too, with 10 percent off every one of its 2027 French Polynesia itineraries aboard the m/s Paul Gauguin. That's the ship built for these waters: think swimming in Bora Bora's lagoon, snorkelling the coral gardens of the Tuamotus, and hiking beneath the rainforest-covered peaks of the Marquesas, where Polynesian culture runs deep. For anyone eyeing a South Pacific trip in 2027, this shaves a meaningful amount off what is usually a premium-priced product.
Why it matters: luxury expedition cruises rarely come cheap, so a two-month window with up to a fifth off is a genuine opening for travellers who have these ships on their wishlist. The catch is the usual one — savings depend on availability and restrictions apply, so the most attractive cabin categories and departure dates will likely fill first. If a Smithsonian-guided fjord cruise or a Marquesas voyage is on your list for 2027, booking before early January is the move. Full terms sit on the company's website, and quoting HOLIDAY26 at the time of booking does the work.
